Trump banner drop takes place in Chichester

Campaigners in Chichester joined hundreds around the world in a banner drop to mark the inauguration of Donald Trump.

A banner reading Bridges Not Walls was dropped at the bridge over the River Lavant on Friday, January 20, the day Trump was sworn in as America’s president.

Green Party Chichester city councillor, Sarah Sharp, was delighted to join the banner drop and said: “We need to come together to build bridges and heal divisions.

“We are standing up for community, cooperation and kindness and want to encourage connections with our neighbours.

“This weekend has seen marches and events all over the country to oppose the climate of fear and hatred which seems to be gaining ground.

“We in Chichester are proud to be a part of this global movement which stands up for shared values of respect for justice, dignity and human rights and protection of the marginalised.”

The Chichester protest was one of more than 150 banner drops across the world as part of the Bridges not Walls project - an unprecedented partnership between grassroots activists and campaigners working on a diverse range of issues, formed in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.

The initiative began as the brainchild of Hastings ice cream man and homeless shelter worker Will Stevens, in the aftermath of the shock US election result.

It has rapidly gained momentum and is now being backed by a growing number of existing activist groups, community groups and larger campaign organisations who share anxiety about recent political events both here and in the US.

Nona Hurkmans, Bridges not Walls spokesperson said: “On Trump’s inauguration day we’re taking action to show our support for groups under attack - here in the UK, across Europe and in the USA - and to reject the rise of a dangerous and divisive far right politics.

“We mustn’t let the politics of hate peddled by the likes of Donald Trump take hold.

“What happens next is up to us and by standing together we can show that the rhetoric of fear and hate have no place in our society.”

Banners were unveiled in the capital cities of all four British nations, as well as in Dublin.